transporting your gear

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The inlaws sold their beach house, so now I have to haul my gear 3 hours when I go fishing. I'm keeping the boat down at the coast and I'm trying to figure the best way to haul my stuff down for fishing trips. I do nearshore and offshore, trolling and bottom fishing and yes I typically take too much stuff anyway.

I have a Yukon XL and do a lot iron man one day trips. So trying to figure the best way to haul everything down without tearing stuff up and without messing up the inside of my vehicle (it's brand new and needs to look new for the next 10 years!).

Some of the things I do:
Metal jigs in a 2.5 or 5 gallon bucket hanging on u-bolts.
I switched to an SKB tackle box.
Rods are in stick jackets held together with a velcro strap and a blanket around the reels to protect them and the car.

Recently in the same situation as I downsized from a sport fisher to a CC. There are some things I keep on the boat, but I bring a dozen rods/reel. Started with getting reel covers for everything. I'm considering building a hitch receiver rod holder so I don't have to lay everything down in the back of the car. More room for coolers etc.

Bungee the rods in a bundle (or two), optionally taking reels off first, makes them more manageable.

There's no pretty way to do what you are suggesting, but an empty big SUV with the seats down has plenty of room for even a serious day trips supplies.

I routinely drive 10-15 rods, cooler, tackle bag, multiple 5 gallon buckets of crap, overnight bag, etc. down to Longboat Key for trips on my buddy's world cat. Usually a 4-5 AM departure up here, like to pack the truck night before and just pour coffee and drive in morning.

Adjustable clothes hanger pole
Adjustable automotive hanger poles make great rod holders in a suv. I made alum brackets for the rear for clearance on the bigger reels and tie wrapped the fronts. I’ve had as many as 10 rods hanging

If your are set on keeping the YUKON XL then the hitch carrier is the way to go. You may want to consider going with a crew cab pick up and get a custom rod rack strapped into the bed. That is how I do it for my 2 plus hour drive to the beach every time I ocean fish. Here is a picture of my truck when we were down fishing Oregon Inlet this spring for cobia inshore and offshore.

Adjustable clothes hanger pole
Adjustable automotive hanger poles make great rod holders in a suv. I made alum brackets for the rear for clearance on the bigger reels and tie wrapped the fronts. I’ve had as many as 10 rods hanging

Was thinking about the hitch haul carrier with rod holders and still might go that route. But I'd have to unhook and store it when I got to the beach (boat is stored 2 miles from the ramp). Doable, just another added step but that's the direction I'm leaning towards. Keeping rods and a cooler and maybe a bucket with the day's fishing clothes in it OUT of my vehicle is a nice thought.

For hauling my rods I have a roof rack on my topper. On the rack bars I put the Yakima Snow Ski holders. The 4 ski holder will hold 10-12 offshore rods TLD 20-30s or similar. Hauled them from NC to the Keys this year and back plus since you can lock the rack it adds just that little bit of extra security.